Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Starting your own newspaper
• Method 2 of 4: Writing news articles
• Method 3 of 4: Layout your newspaper
• Method 4 of 4: Distributing your newspaper
• Tips
• Warnings

Making your own newspaper is every journalist's dream. Determining your message, seeing your name printed, and denouncing injustice that other newspapers have yet to write about are just some of the benefits of having your own newspaper, but it's not easy. You need staff, time, money and dedication to your message to survive in the competitive media market. However, if you follow these steps, you are already halfway there.

To step

Method 1 of 4: Starting your own newspaper

1. Determine the niche of your newspaper. There are many newspapers, blogs and media that cover many different topics, but if you think you can compete directly with the reach and content of the NRC, it will only lead to failure. Find a topic or perspective that is not currently offered in your area and try to fill that.
   • Good options include village news, events, and politics. These are not often reported by the major newspapers, but are interesting for everyone who lives in that village.
   • The more specific your niche is, the more you will stand out to potential readers, but if you are a little too specific, you can actually steal your readers from you. For example, use the title "Gym lessons at the secondary schools of Amsterdam" instead of "Football at the Montessori Lyceum".
   • Do you have knowledge about a particular industry that is of interest to a wider audience? For example, if you know a lot about music bands in your area, you can interview the bands for your newspaper and review new CDs to introduce them to a wider audience.
2. Choose a good name. Your name should in some way show potential readers what your newspaper is about. This can be easy if you start out as a local reporter (Delftse Post, Baarnsche Courant), but it is a bit more difficult with newspapers in a certain niche. Think of something that is concise, but not limited.
   • Think of something you can use to write about many different types of articles. Instead of "De West-Friesche Boeren Courant", choose something broader such as "Friesch Vee & Boeren".
   • Always include the date and edition of the newspaper below the title.
   • Also make sure to include your contact details or website above or below the title.
3. Choose between a print or online newspaper. Although traditional newspapers are printed and distributed, you often reach a larger audience online and save on printing costs. That said, some newspapers are more successful in print because they can be placed in strategic locations and promoted by local businesses.
   • Online newspapers attract a diverse audience and can be easily promoted through social media and word of mouth. They are also cheaper and easier to manage last-minute, as you can respond to readers and publish new articles instantly. On the other hand, you have millions of other small newspapers for the same readers as competition and online plagiarism is getting out of hand. A good, interactive website can also become expensive.
   • It is easier to charge for print newspapers and many consumers still prefer this reading experience. But the physical experience also takes more time, money and energy to market, and in addition to "letters sent to the editor," you get minimal feedback on your work and your reach.
   • While nothing will stop you from publishing both online and in print, when you are just starting out, choose one or the other.
4. Gather editorial staff. Whether you have a newspaper offline or online, it is too difficult to do it on your own. Between writing, editing, designing, photography, publishing, promoting and accounting, there are a lot of other skills you need for a newspaper. While more and more staff is needed as your newspaper grows, you must have at least the following roles to get started:
   • Reporter: Writes articles, reports on events and pitches new ideas for the newspaper. Reporters conduct interviews, collect data and research for the next big article they want to write, producing all of the content for your newspaper.
   • Editor: Helps the reporter perfect the story in terms of length, tone and angle. Editors often manage multiple topics (trade, sports, politics, etc.) and act as the middleman between the reporters and the editor-in-chief.
   • Chief editor: The head of the newspaper who has the final say on whether or not a story will be published, which articles go where and the direction of the paper. In smaller newspapers, they edit and review articles to provide guidance and advice to reporters.
   • Proofreader: Examine the articles for grammatical, syntactic and factual errors before they are published. Sometimes they also conduct basic research for articles.
   • Photographer: Accompanies a reporter to capture images for the story. Online newspapers are also increasingly asking for multimedia specialists.
   • Graphic designer: Responsible for the look and layout of the newspaper or website as well as making graphs, tables and illustrations for articles.
   • Sometimes these roles overlap, and sometimes you need several people for the same job. Be flexible and know what your newspaper needs - a newspaper about art, for example, might need a whole team of graphic designers to make a great newspaper.

Method 2 of 4: Writing news articles

1. Find a story that is unique, engaging, informative, or important to your audience. A cliché from journalism is: "A dog that bites a man is not news. A man who bites a dog does. " News articles should have an impact on readers by revealing something they didn't know yet. When brainstorming, ask yourself if the story is relevant to your readers, if there is something unique or unusual, or if it highlights a rather mysterious event or phenomenon.
   • A good reporter testifies to a person, event or development that a reader would not see for himself.
   • The best news articles cover a little bit of everything by providing a new and fresh perspective.
2. Do a thorough research. No matter what your topic is, a reader uses a newspaper to learn something and they assume that what they read is true. If an article is incorrect or misinformed, it doesn't matter how well it is written - the article has flopped. You can avoid this by doing proper research before writing, using a variety of sources, and reviewing facts that seem untrue or inaccurate.
   • Always take notes when researching and record your sources in case the veracity of an article is questioned.
   • Never use just one source of information - interview more than one person, consult more than one book, and delve into the topic as deeply as you can.
   • Ask your sources if they can recommend someone to talk to or if they know about other events worth reporting.
3. Learn to write the five W's of news articles. At the very least, an article should address five basic questions about your topic: Who, What, Where, When & Why. While artfully written stories and poetic language make a story better, a news article will not work if it cannot provide the reader with these basic facts. Depending on the story, some points may be less important than others, but they all need to be addressed in the end.
   • Write these five words down on a piece of paper and fill them in before you start writing. If you miss one, go back and find the answer.
   • To fully explore the story, many articles need to go deeper by answering "How?" Or "So?"
4. Write a convincing first sentence. The lead is the first sentence of an article and it has to grab the readers and tell them what the article is about. The lead is short, snappy and informative, and is the most important sentence in the article, but often the most difficult sentence to write.
   • The lead must contain the central idea of ​​the article. When writing about a possible peace negotiation, don't write "The US and Iraq met yesterday to talk." But say "For the first time in a decade, US and Iraqi diplomats started peace negotiations yesterday."
5. Use the traditional "inverted pyramid" to tell the most important information first. Your first paragraph should contain the most relevant information of the story so that everyone who reads it knows more or less what happened. This is the base of your pyramid. Then add specific facts and ideas by elaborating on your points in the first paragraph. This informs readers no matter where they stop reading.
   • While the opening paragraph may not include all of the "Five Ws," it should cover the most important ones.
   • As you write, ask yourself, "If an editor shortens my story after this paragraph, would it still be complete?" Due to the limited space in printed newspapers, this is a very likely opportunity.
6. Stay objective. Staying objective and sticking to the facts rather than your own opinions is crucial to a writer's trustworthiness. People read the news to get information and they trust that it is not biased. If you are a socialist who has to write about the local VVD meeting, for example, you should not insult or mock the politicians you describe.
   • Investigate all perspectives on controversial topics equally. For example, if you are interviewing a lawyer defending a criminal, you should also interview the prosecutor, regardless of what you think of the case.
   • If there is a conflict of interest, such as when you have to report a scandal in your parent's company, you should ask another reporter to cover the story.
7. Proofread your text and double check your facts. Nothing derails a reporter's credibility faster than misspellings and incorrect facts. Make sure you have cited your sources correctly and that you have formatted your article properly.
   • Remove any words, phrases or phrases that are unnecessary for the article. People appreciate brevity and want to get straight to the facts.
8. Choose one or more photos that are representative of your item. The best photojournalism tells a version of the story in itself. Since space is often limited in newspapers, choose one or two photos that best depict your story so that anyone browsing it has a good idea of ​​what he or she is going to read.
   • When you publish your newspaper online you have the option to post as many photos as you want. But it's still important that the first photo a reader sees is the best.
   • Never falsify a photo, never steal a photo online, and never photograph people without permission.
   • Use consistent format for your newspaper. You can download free style guides online for the most common news magazines, such as APA and Associated Press.
   • Regardless of the style you choose (APA or Associated Press), make sure every reporter follows the same style guide.
   • Have someone else check your item to make sure you haven't missed anything yourself.

Method 3 of 4: Layout your newspaper

1. Choose the most relevant or compelling stories for the front page. Just as the lead draws attention to your article, the story on the front page should draw attention to your newspaper. Choose a story that is relevant, current, or unique, and make sure you have a high-quality photo.
   • Think about which story gets the most attention. It could be a dramatic sports event or breaking news, but it should be appealing anyway.
2. Provide headlines that draw attention. Usually it is not the reporters but the editors who write the headlines. The goal is to give the reader a short, catchy hint of what the story is about, without revealing the whole article. The best headlines are short, eye-catching and promise readers new information or ask a question they want answered.
   • Use numbers whenever possible. Figures convey a lot of information without requiring much space.
   • Use active language, interesting adjectives and visual verbs. For example: "Big Cow Runs Through Shop Window".
3. Create different newspaper sections to help your reader navigate. This is crucial when your newspaper gets bigger. No matter how good your stories are, some people only read the newspaper for the sports section, the opinion page, or the puzzles. Group similar articles together in a format that works for you and stay consistent across every issue so your readers can get used to it.
   • Include a small content display on the first page or your home page to help people search.
   • Have the most engaging sections at the beginning of the newspaper.
4. Find advertisers willing to pay for advertising. Whether you have an online or offline newspaper, paid advertising is crucial if you ever want to make money from your newspaper - memberships and sales numbers are too little to count on in full. Once you've determined how much space you want to spend on ads, ask your friends and local businesses if they want to post an ad or if they know someone who wants to.
   • Give potential buyers different pricing options: small, black, and white ads are cheap, but full-page color ads are more expensive.
   • Many blogs and websites allow you to sign up for an existing ad platform, where you get paid for every ad clicked. Check your website host or use GoogleAdSense to find free advertising platforms.
5. Understand the basics of newspaper layout. Once you've chosen your articles and ads, you need to determine where they will appear. Laying out your newspaper layout is a full-time job, requiring journalistic, design and computer skills. Today, software such as Scribus (free), Serif PagePlus (cheap), and Adobe InDesign provide designs and tools to create any layout you can imagine. In general, the layout of a newspaper has a number of strict rules:
   • Remember that clarity is most important. If it is difficult to read or find articles, you need a new design.
   • Edit, cut or change articles to make them fit.
   • Make your headlines bold so that they stand out.
   • Never use a font size smaller than 11.
   • To avoid confusion, do not use more than two fonts.
   • Make sure to set your computer to the CMYK color scheme instead of the default RGB, as printers use CMYK.
   • Fill any leftover space with advertisements, puzzles, comics, or miscellaneous.
   • Find or look at layout designs you like or research award-winning newspaper designs for inspiration if you don't remember.

Method 4 of 4: Distributing your newspaper

1. Find your target audience. Now that you have some articles and a newspaper, you need to know who is going to read it. Search online for articles similar to yours, see who reads them, and ask local businesses or suppliers where other news magazines are distributed.
   • Take your audience's suggestions seriously and respond to their wants and needs when you can.
   • Build a social media platform by posting content regularly and find like-minded people who are interested in your newspaper.
   • Don't be afraid to publish some of your previous articles in other newspapers or on news blogs, just make sure they link to your original article!
2. If you choose a printed newspaper, find a printer that meets your needs. Printers can be expensive and take up a lot of space, so if you have a low print run you should probably wait a while before buying your own printer. Call local copy shops or other newspapers to see how they print their newspapers, and be prepared to spend.
   • Color ink is always more expensive than pure black and white.
   • Consider how many pages you can or want to pay before you collect items.
   • There are online copy shops that print 300 newspapers for around $ 250, but that might not be the best deal if you can find a local printer that offers you a permanent contract.
3. If you choose an online newspaper, invest in a website. Many blogging platforms offer intuitive tools to design a website, but if you are serious about starting a news platform you should invest in a custom website. But until you have a decent readership, consider a free website like WordPress, Blogger, or Tumblr to start with.
   • Consider buying a domain name for your newspaper, such as www.TheWikiHowTimes.com, so that you appear professional to readers and potential advertisers.
4. Keep producing content. Regardless of the platform you use, you should keep writing articles and publishing photos to keep your readers coming back. Skipping a weekly release or letting your blog down for several days lets people know that you don't take news reporting seriously and therefore they look for other sources that post more frequently.
   • The more you produce, the more likely someone is to read it and enjoy themselves. This means more viewers, referrals and readers in the future.

Tips

• Sell ​​your newspaper for a reasonable price or give it away for free if you only focus on advertising money.
• Try the free OpenOffice.org word processor, Scribus for layout and GIMP for photo editing; these are all open-source options you can use to compose your newspaper.
• Make sure everyone knows what their job is and that they are completing it.Keep your editorial space as organized as possible - when you go to press it can be very stressful if you don't find what you need!
• For commercial software, you can search eBay or other online shops for cheap or used software. Adobe InDesign CS or PageMaker is used for layout and output, Photoshop or Corel PhotoPaint for photo editing, Microsoft Word or Word Perfect for word processing and Adobe Acrobat Professional for perfecting PDF documents used by most copy shops.

Warnings

• Check your work for facts. It is expected that in a newspaper all articles are true, without any errors.
• Creating the layout can be frustrating when you're trying to get the items to fit exactly. Take your time and be prepared to trim articles if necessary.